This Government introduced legislation in 1990 which restructured both the membership and financing of drainage boards in a way which totally counters the criticism made in the article. On all boards, district councils nominate members who are almost exclusively elected councillors. After 1993, the representation of elected councillors on boards will be in proportion to the amount of income the boards recover from district councils, and in many cases those elected councillors will form a majority on the board. The remaining members will be elected by the agricultural ratepayers.

Within the legislation, income from nonagricultural land and buildings in the board's district - including the industrial estates and power stations referred to - is recovered through the special levy charged to district councils, for which they receive full reimbursement from central government ...

To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.

To continue reading this article, log in or subscribe to New Scientist

App + web

Web

Smartphone

Tablet

$25.99 - Save 65%

12 issues for $2.17 per issue

with continuous service

Print + web

Print

Web

$28.99 - Save 61%

12 issues for $2.42 per issue

with continuous service

Print + app + web

Print

Web

Smartphone

Tablet

$39.99 - Save 73%

12 issues for $3.33 per issue

with continuous service

Web

Web only

$49.99

30 day web pass

Prices may vary according to delivery country and associated local taxes.